Pass the Parity Enforcement Act
Recommendation
Congress should pass the bi-partisan Parity Enforcement Act, which would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to give the Department of Labor (DOL) the authority to impose civil monetary penalties (i.e., fines) on health plans that violate the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA).[1][2][3]
Background/summary
MHPAEA, which was co-authored by former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, founder of The Kennedy Forum, requires most types of health insurance (including ERISA plans) to cover mental health and substance use disorders services no more restrictively than physical health services.[4][5] While the MHPAEA has significantly improved access to MH/SUD coverage for millions of Americans, the Department of Labor (DOL) and other state and federal regulators have uncovered numerous violations of the Parity Law.[6] For the law to be effective, however, health plans must be held accountable when they fail to comply with the law’s requirements.[7] The Parity Enforcement Act extends existing civil monetary penalty authority that DOL has to enforce the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) to MHPAEA and includes safe harbor provisions for plans making good-faith efforts to comply with the law. The Parity Enforcement Act passed the House on two occasions in the 117th Congress. President Trump’s 2017 Opioid Commission, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Task Force on Tackling America’s Mental Health and Addiction Crisis Through Primary Care Integration, and DOL itself have called for this authority.[2][3]
citations
1. The Kennedy Forum. Recommendations of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy to the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. Last Updated October 2017.
2. Presidential Commission. The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. Last Updated October 2017.
3. Bipartisan Policy Center. Tackling America’s Mental Health and Addiction Crisis Through Primary Care Integration. Last Updated March 2021.
4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). Last Accessed July 27, 2023.
5. The Kennedy Forum. What is Parity?. (n.d.)
6. U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Realizing Parity, Reducing Stigma, and Raising Awareness: Increasing Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Coverage, 2022 MHPAEA Report to Congress. Last Updated January 2022.
7. The Kennedy Forum. Parity. (n.d.)